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Sunday, February 17, 2013

The entryway buffet has been looking a little sparse ever since I took down the holiday decorations back in January. In fact, it became a catch-all for all things “junk” and “discarded.” I could stand it no more, so as I was cleaning the great room yesterday, I borrowed a few items from around the house and created a new vignette for the entry.

I began with this basket from the great room and used it as the focal point for the buffet. The only thing I did was to change out the book, removing this rust colored one and adding in something a bit lighter in color.

Its cover is some undecipherable script- looks a little fancy schmancy….

And the orchid is still pretty, just as it was when it lived in the great room. How could it possibly look anything but good?

It is faux!

A stack of little blue books tied up with a ribbon just adds a little color to tie in with the wall of artwork going up the stairs.

I rounded up a bunch of no longer used keys and padlocks and placed them in this tiny silver bowl….

Where they sit in front of this blue seeded bowl filled with some faux greenery balls.

The bowl balances out the new clear seeded glass lamp that I ordered from Stylecraft Lamps at the last furniture market. The pair has been in one of the guest rooms since Christmas; but since I was tired of the bronze colored lamp that has been here for the past few years, I appropriated one for here, instead. Doing so gives the area a lighter, more contemporary look. Its mate found its home on the sofa table in the great room. That table will be getting a much needed make-over, as well.

Now that the tabletop is cleaned up and styled, I don’t think we’ll be plopping everything and anything on top of it anymore. I can tolerate the mail and my keys on it when I come in from outside, but it’s the scarves, gloves, coffee mugs, and all the “just plain junk” that have been the cause of my dismay and consternation. Can you tell that I’m anxious for the demise of winter and all of the accoutrements that go along with cold weather?

Thursday, February 7, 2013

In order to overcome the dreariness of our winter weather, I performed a quick decorating fix in our very neutral great room. The new Smith Brothers furniture arrived back in the fall, but I never showed any of the pieces. Then the holidays arrived, but I still never showed any part of the room except for the magnolia dressed mantel. So, here’s the room - finally- with its neutral gray pieces, along with the addition of some much needed touches of color.

I love Ikat and Suzani inspired prints so thought that these patterned pillows would be perfect in this room. The tufted back sofa was crying out for something besides the key patterned pillows that I ordered to accent its arms.

The blue in these two pillows is subtle and tends to read a bit on the gray side. I think adding in the muted yellow floral was the perfect foil to them.

I replaced the baker’s rack that was originally on this long wall with the buffet from the dining room. The ceiling is 18 feet tall and the room was simply crying out for a tall piece of furniture that would take up more vertical wall space. Now I’m looking for a replacement piece for the dining room- I’m thinking that I should look for an old buffet or china cabinet that I can paint.

A couple pops of green were added to the buffet with a Juliska vase and a boxwood topiary under a small cloche.

I found this old piece of tile at some obscure shop a few years ago and I try to add it into vignettes whenever possible.

Here’s my favorite accent chair in the room. It’s smaller in size than the pair of chairs on the opposite wall. Can you discern what the fabric is depicting? Look closely……

It’s a French street map! When I saw this fabric, I knew it would be absolutely perfect to cover this small chair. I had a pair of pillows made to be used on a pair of chairs in front of the entertainment center.

Here are the other chairs in the room, accented with the pillows in the map fabric. They’re actually quite comfortable, especially for being a more formal style of chair. The metal table between them was a Christmas gift from the husband. When we ordered it at the fall furniture market, I kinda had it in the back of my mind that I wanted it for myself, but then I forgot about it completely. So glad it was under the tree on Christmas morning! It replaced the leather stool that is now on the side of the chair.

The puffy moss ball that was on my vintage scale made its way over to the table to add a shot of color.

My glass cocktail tabletop received an addition of color with this orchid. What color, you ask? Well, in addition to the white~ the green from the leaves and the little buds, of course! I took this shot prior to adding in a small khaki colored book that you’ll see in the photo below.

Here we go….. So much better to have an odd number of items in the basket.

I need more time to practice, but I think this shot with my new 50 mm lens came out quite well.

I topped this ASCP painted table with a blue glass bowl filled with moss balls.

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This simple room re-styling gave me just the push I needed to get going on my own house decorating. I long for the coming of spring and the opportunity to start shopping estate and yard sales for some unique finds with which to decorate. I’m going to be on the look-out for some blue and white pieces to add to the room. Until then, I’ll be re-painting some rooms, as well as taking down some wallpaper.

So don’t come knocking at my front door unless you want to find me covered in paint spatters and dressed in some pretty unusual articles of clothing. Let’s just say that a pair of baggy old workout pants is part of my favorite go-to outfit. Think turquoise blue with lots of eclectic designs on them. Scary………………

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I'm an avid home stylist who admires all things beautiful, interesting, quirky, and fun. Because of that, I like to hunt for hidden treasures to use in my decorating. My collections keep growing, but I won't be ready for an intervention any time soon-